Report Summary 2007: LEADER REPORT PART 1

C Peter Overton, Expedition Leader

Training Programme

Bringing together a team of 26 people, all of which had different aspirations, and organising them for an expedition for a month is a considerable challenge. However, as with most things in life, the secret is in the preparation. It was not practical to assemble everyone in the UK in advance, since seven of the team members were Malawian. However, we had met three of the Malawian team before and the remainder, being National Parks staff, did not have the same sort of challenge as our UK team members, although learning our way of operating was challenge enough!

The UK team assembled for a training weekend in May. This was a useful opportunity for them to get to know each other better, although most had in fact met in early January at a party organised for this purpose. The weekend was very popular and worked successfully, introducing the team to some of the skills that they were to use in the bush. The training programme is made available to others who are interested, with a view to possibly joining a later team, or indeed have plans to travel in remote areas elsewhere in the world. It is therefore published below for the first time in our expedition report, since it is such an important part of the whole expedition and is in fact more or less compulsory for those who wish to join us.

We have run training along these lines for some time now and our feedback suggests that people thoroughly enjoy the experience. In 2007 we had the added advantage of climatic conditions to suit. The warm dry conditions that prevailed in April continued until the very hour when the team left camp - at which point the heavens started to open and the summer became a memorable one, for the long run of torrential downpours. Our camps attempt to mimic the real conditions of bush living but the climate, the season and the daylength are likely to remain, for the foreseeable future, outside our control!

Arrival of the team

Four members of the team arrived on the day of departure of the expedition from Lilongwe ; everyone else arrived between one and three days in advance. Those who arrived early seemed to benefit from the rest after travelling and if time is not of the essence it is recommended that in future all team members arrive before departure day to the north.

We yet again faced the problem of delayed baggage from Johannesburg . One item eventually met up with its owner after one week on the expedition but since he had taken the advice to keep his sleeping bag with him in hand luggage, it was not crucial in the event. With a large team, it was possible to find sufficient spare equipment to keep him in camp. One team member, who booked his flight quite late, was able to fly directly into Lilongwe from London on Air Zimbabwe . This clearly avoided risk of lost baggage. Everyone else had at least one change of flight; most came via Nairobi or Johannesburg . The latter is now getting a reputation for mislaying baggage and we may need to make future recommendations to this effect

Food and Transport Planning

Most of our camp hardware - pots, buckets, utensils etc, - had been either left behind in 2006 or purchased in advance on our behalf and were waiting for our collection near Mzuzu. We are grateful to Ray Murphy for assistance with this. This meant that pre-expedition work in Lilongwe was kept to a minimum, since a food purchase list was prepared from our experience in previous expeditions and we needed to allocate only a single day to its collection, substantially from the supermarket in Lilongwe and subsequently from Mzuzu markets on the journey north. Food was planned for everyone, including scout provisions this year for the first time. They are easy to cater for, since by adding maize flour for nsima and some dried lake fish onto our list we had effectively covered their preferred requirements and for everything else they shared the other expedition rations completely and happily. We needed to attempt to buy all stocks for the 23 days of our journey, which was a substantial amount of food. We again made use of a 26-seater bus to provide sufficient seats for the whole team. Again it proved to be less than ideal for use off the tarred roads and suffered broken leaf springs from use on the rough road conditions on the Nyika plateau. We can now say from our considerable experience that use of a bus for transport on difficult dirt roads should be avoided wherever possible. They are simply not built for the purpose and even with the most careful driving; undue pressure is brought to bear on them making breakages almost inevitable. In the 2006 report I mentioned how important it is to try and keep baggage off the bus. With a full load it became essential this year. Everyone was advised that any personal items they took with them had to he kept at their feet or on their laps and this had the desired effect of keeping the cabin reasonably clear. Another issue that arose during the expedition was fuel planning. Not for the first time there was difficulty in securing sufficient supplies; the uncertainty turned out to be worse than the reality and we did get by; but there were tricky moments. Chilinda supplies were inadequate and we were faced with the prospect of having insufficient to get back down, despite agreeing supplies in advance. I was able to make a food for fuel arrangement to solve the problem but there were clearly other issues, caused by general uncertainty about the future management of Chilinda. We discovered a limbo situation which I sincerely hope will be fully resolved by 2008. Rumphi had no diesel, so we had to scrounge 20 litres on the roadside from a village near Ekwendeni to be sure of getting back to Mzuzu, where supplies had been intermittent but were available by the time of our arrival. We carried spare fuel from the outset but in the event we needed much more and in future will lay up stocks in our area of operation to insulate ourselves from the vagaries of the deliveries. We commented about how different things are in a third world country and the likely consequences of a similar scenario in Britain . Malawians take things in their stride much better, I feel. Long experience of the situation does help.

All our baggage and provisions were taken on the back of a four ton flat bed truck, which was ideal for the purpose. It returned to Lilongwe as soon as we had unloaded at our base camp. We had planned to take a trailer on the back of the bus, for our return journey when the truck would not be required. However we had to collect this from Mzuzu later since it was not available at departure from Lilongwe . As things turned out we had the broken spring on the vehicle to repair, which coincided with the trailer collection. We are again grateful to Land and Lake Safaris for acting as our vehicle agents and supporting the transport logistics, which is, of course, a crucial part of the whole expedition.

Travel to Thazima

We had our usual overnight stop at Kasito Lodge near Chikangawa on the Viphya plateau. It was a beautiful night and warmer than any I can recall in recent years. Yet again the lodge was double booked but we all made do with what accommodation was available. We had already advised the team that some of us would be camping, since there are not sufficient beds for a group of 19 anyway. The warden was immensely helpful, as always, and it seems a shame that he has to rely on inadequate communication from the Forestry Department in Mzuzu to plan his accommodation. The place has an air of Colonial neglect about it but our teams seem to find this an interesting part of the journey; it has atmosphere at least. We ate well, we slept well and we got away by 7.15 to complete the big shop in Mzuzu. The truck went ahead to collect the pre-arranged hardware and met up with the bus again in Rumphi. We had set up camp down on the river at Thazima in good time and the previous training of the team was now starting to show clearly. For such a large team we were already working well together better than would be expected and this set the tone for the whole expedition. It was indeed impressive to see good order where some of the team had not even put up a tent a few weeks earlier.

SETTING UP BASE CAMP

Our base was in place for 17 nights: Tuesday 31 July to Thursday 16 August

Map reference? 791377 Altitude? 6,500'

There were no delays in leaving Thazima the next morning, since it seemed that the three staff we wished to speak to were away. We were on the road by 8 a.m. Since we had to decamp and reload the truck for the final leg of its journey to base camp this was very good work by the team. By now we had assembled our support staff; Stephen, from the Millennium Seed Bank in Mulanje, had joined us at Thazima. Alfeyo had joined us earlier in Mzuzu and Faston in Rumphi. Lewis, Richard and Daniel joined us on the Nyika. Our original plan had been to spend a night at Chilinda and then head out the next day to set up a base. This is never ideal since it makes the journey time longer and it can be frustrating when the team are keen to get settled in the bush. A chance meeting with Robyn Foot and the inclement weather conditions made me rethink this plan. The Old Horse Camp on the western side of the plateau, which she suggested, was more accessible than the North Rumphi Bridge and, as it turned out, would give us a much better climate to start the expedition. The very cold season was to make the eastern side of the plateau less than ideal for our work. The following week one of our teams was to experience this first hand while others went down hill into the northern valleys. So our base camp turned out to be a three tiered settlement. Burning of the grass, close to the river persuaded most to pitch their tents at either the upper level, near the established toilet, or at the middle level, nearer the camp fire. The fire was on the adjacent stream, between that and the main river was a flat area which was used by some of the team as a camp site. Although at first the site seemed less than ideal, it was in reality a good camp, certainly better than our 2006 camp at Zungwara, which was ant infested. The team soon got used to working between the three levels and the North Rukuru River there has sufficient flow to be excellent for washing and close to the main camp for drawing water. We soon had set up a food bazaar by stripping down an old toilet construction, which had already been partly destroyed by poachers or others seeking firewood. The poles and planks were ideal for our purpose. We used no nails; just sisal string which had been brought for the purpose. The skills of the scouts, given the simple design based on the previous few years experience, meant that it was only a couple of hours before most of our food was off the ground. We had not intended that this should be a long-term camp but it was in place for the next 17 days and proved a useful depot for our supplies when most of the team was away in one of several satellite camps. It is time consuming to move a base, when most people prefer to travel very light and much of the equipment and supplies are not required for the forays, thus a good base camp is paramount even if it is little occupied, as was the case in 2007.

ACCLIMATISATION

The first five days of the expedition were spent working out from our base, with one overnight stay near the North Rukuru Bridge . This acclimatisation process and testing of methods and procedures has proved valuable. We collected data and covered some plateau plots but with less walking required between plots, it gave everyone the chance to get used to the new environment and decide how they were going to handle the more difficult expedition treks later on. James Herbert's magnificent but rather cumbersome pole inclinometre lasted a few days before being discarded, as a burden too far. Ration planning leaves room for error when the store is only a short distance away; later in the trip it became more crucial. Sharing of tents starts to become more attractive when the reality of the termite-ridden landscape becomes more apparent. For some, the experience of being up at dawn was apparently new and for one or two team members I am not sure whether they actually did experience it at all! However, the team did respond well to encouragement and the good example being set by most. As requested at the training weekend, 'a calm momentum' was soon established. The rest day of Sunday 5 th August, when preparations were made for the following week's long trek, saw an early team walk over to the western escarpment and get magnificent early morning views across the Nthalire plain, albeit with a very strong wind blowing. This initial period also enabled the establishment of the other projects, including a realistic attempt at bird surveys, which require an early morning slot which does not fit in well with the departure time of the groups doing day treks. Our two Malawian collectors wasted no time in getting to work on the entomology and plants of the area.

TREK TO THE SAWI

The 'A' Team, as they liked to be known, were selected to travel the furthest of the three groups, into which we split for the first major foray. This team was led by Adam Rollitt, with Adam Lee, Michael, Andrew, Amanda and Fred making up the group, with Richard Nyirenda in charge of navigation and security .The trip to the Sawi Valley camp, from the drop off point at the old transmitter station on the plateau, is about eight hours, if the team is reasonably fit. It helps to have done it before, but if it is split over two days it is not particularly difficult. The hardest part is inevitably the final climb out from the Mondwe River and back up the steep escarpment. All of the A team managed this without assistance but felt they had done a hard walk by the time they reached the top, with Fred Glyn and Michael Overton making a fast ascent and getting to the bus first for a well-earned lunch. Some record of their experience in the Sawi is given by an edited version of Adam Rollitt's diary:

Set off for the first of the major forays, bags laden with tins of meatballs, beans and fruit, none more so than poor Fred's! After enthusing about the, apparently quite close, calls of hyaenas last night, we set off in the golden morning light, spirits high..

It is 3 am . I am aroused by nicking and nipping and pricking about my wrists. After scrambling for the headtorch, it is revealed that my Thermarest sleeping mat is literally crawling with 'red' ants. Further inspection reveals several holes in the groundsheet, through which the marauding army have managed to chew and throng (the stories were true!). The next hour or so is spent squashing them, one by one, to screams and laughter from Fred, who, amazingly, remains virtually unswarmed and ungorged upon; so he leaves me to get on with it.

After our gruelling and plot-heavy day, our ambition (or lack of foresight) meant we had quite a distance to walk from our last plot back to base camp. As we wearily descended a steep gully in the stuffy, still, dusk air, a gunshot penetrated the daydream, and ripped through the valley. It took me a few moments to make the connection: gunshot, in the Nyika means that something is amiss. We all lay low and giddy, while Richard scoured the trees and sniffed the air, and fired a couple of rusty rounds in response. As Alfeyo, back at camp, failed to respond to Richard's subsequent whistle, he crouched down to our level and whispered, "it is poachers". Tension all round. We slowly and measuredly trod a different route back to camp, our breaths baited and hearts racing as darkness fell. I fancied poacher-shaped shadows lurking a few metres away amidst the tress and long grass, and a dead Alfeyo at basecamp.

Upon suddenly reaching our familiar little gully, expertly picked out by Richard, we paused on the other side. the camp fire playing silently through the trees...

Turns out that the shot was from Alfeyo, who was concerned about our whereabouts!

A quick note on the atmosphere.it all seems very still; hardly any birds except for the honeyguide and the odd swoop of a bird of prey; the bark and boom of baboons; the gurgle of a stream; our tramping through the crispy golden grass; and an alert animal posied on the hill opposite. It is winter here; the same winter, quiet and dormant, that you get back home, just with a warm African twist, in anticipation of the rains to come and quench the baked, orange earth.

There was lots of commotion in the morning. Marianne appears while we eat our porridge, rather upset about the loss of Kit's glasses and probably also about the marsh mallow raid conducted by our team on the others the night before.. After a couple of hours or so arguing and sweeping the impossibly long grass we set off, partly reunited with B team on the last slog up the hill to the awaiting bus but without Kit's glasses. As most of the team takes a rest on the ridge running up to the plateau, talk turns to 'vanilla smoothies' and other scrumptious things from that place in Nottingham where they make milkshakes out of chocolate bars and cookies and 'half baked' Ben and Jerry's. We get by with Aussie's (Andrew's) delicious organic raisins, and then later with a feast of tuna, peanut butter and cheese with Provita and a dessert of rusks.

THE MONDWE CAMP

We watched the two teams meander their way down into Mondwe Valley for five nights, both returning on Saturday 11 th August, with some tired people! Marianne's team included Chris, Vikki, Hils, Laura, James Herbert, Steven and Sidney. Scouts Lewis and Daniel supported them on this foray.

Marianne Overton writes:

The first day of plot survey was in a square some 2 km away. We were tempted by that extra plot even though it was getting past time, so we had a worrying half hour when we had difficulty finding home as it was further than it had seemed on the outward journey! James got stuck into the practical necessities of lighting a fire and collecting water, some of us got the food going and the tired team were soon revived, resolving not to be so ambitious in future!

We moved camp further up the valley to a superb, flat, grassy, floodplain on the Mondwe River . Lewis marked the way for the others, should they arrive unexpectedly. We could now be clearly from the ridge. We found elephant trails with fresh droppings and a lovely grove of ancient, stunted Brachystegia taxifolia , high up on a koppie. On one plot were many huge caterpillars of Saturnid moths going into pupation, having stripped the neighbouring Brachystegia spiciformis tree. The evening was brightened with pineapple in orange sauce and custard.

At the top of a hill we found poacher burning. Around a huge fig tree right on the very summit we came across the sad remains of a village. Circles of dirt that represented what was once a fine hut, with associated abandoned clay pots. At this site was also a fresh poacher shelter, having been used as an overnight stop.

Everyone got safely across the river; that is everyone except the long-legged Steven, who slipped right in. He ran back to camp and returned to join the group just five minutes later. This must be a record for our expeditions!

WINTER NEAR NGANDA

5nights: Monday 6 August to Friday 10 August

Map reference 916482 Altitude 7750'

Those of us, who formed the 'C' team, were destined to spend an exceptionally cold week at our camp between the old tracker station and Nganda peak. We found a reasonably sheltered spot, some 100 m away from an evergreen forest patch but a difficult walk of 200 m through a wet bog to a small water course. We experienced cold nights; the lowest temperature recorded was 2 degrees Celsius with a white frost in the morning. The daytime temperatures were kept down by, at times, persistent low cloud. Maximum was just 12 degrees on the first three days, with a stiff breeze at times making it feel colder. On 7 th August, a day when one of our team spent the day in his tent, one of at least four who seemed to go down with a flu-type virus early in the expedition, I wrote in my diary "hands too cold to write!" We had to return early to camp on one afternoon as the cloud started to descend onto us and we feared being fogged out completely. Towards the end of the week the weather improved a little but most of the team were wearing as many clothes as they could muster in bed; certainly woolly hats and socks proved their worth. This 'slow' team did exceptionally well, with meticulous recording of what we were able to find and achieving our target of 20 plots during the week, albeit covering a deliberately reduced area of 16 km 2 . The week was undoubtedly brightened by our discovery of a Marsh Owl nest with two young on the ground. They were receiving rather too much attention from some Ravens and we hope our presence did not attract this attention. However, we noticed from afar the next day that the Ravens were still harassing the owls and were being seen off. We also found that Reed Buck was evident in good numbers and there were sufficient tracks and signs to keep us interested. This proved to be a very optimistic period on the plateau, when we looked successfully for signs of reduced poaching and increased game numbers. We found little or no poaching evidence in this area. At 2 a.m. on 10 th August we were all awakened by a human voice plaintively calling in the distance "hello". This caused great consternation, since at that hour it could only mean that one of our teams, having broken the rule of not travelling by night, was in serious trouble. Hearts pounded, heads popped out of tents, torches shone, shouts rang out through the night and echoed round the valley, breaking the normal plateau silence. When it transpired that it was only our own group member who had taken a wrong turning for her comfort break and got lost, the relief (no pun intended) was immense. Poor Kath will never live that one down and her plaintive "Hello" became her catchword for ever more.

BACK TO BASE

3 Nights Saturday 12 th , Sunday 13 th and Monday 14th August

Map reference 791377 Altitude 6,500ft

After 26 people had physically lifted the bus out of a gulley and got it turned round to head back to base it became apparent that we had problems with the rear suspension. This was to necessitate a trip down to Mzuzu to get it fixed, since the planned trip to Uledi the following week could not go ahead without both the bus being repaired and sufficient certain supply of fuel to complete the programme. Some of the team were exhausted at this stage and there was special concern over the health of one or two of them. The extra night at base was thus probably fortuitous. Sunday was a scheduled rest day and it gave us a chance to recover. Monday involved a trip by the leader and two team members to Chilinda, where we were able to make arrangements for the repair of the bus in Mzuzu and establish sufficient fuel to be sure of being able to collect the A team at the end of the week. We returned to base camp just before dark. This was a difficult evening since the best interests of the expedition did not coincide with everyone's ambitions. We needed to split the team appropriately for one group to travel to Uledi, as we had originally planned. We could not allow any real, or perceived 'weak links' in the team since they were going to be out of touch for virtually the whole week and we needed to make sure they worked together very well, physically and emotionally. It took the usual 'sleeping on things' before decisions were taken and the split of the groups was finalised. There are occasions when a committee cannot make a decision and this was one of those occasions! Therefore the leader went it alone. The result was that a slightly altered 'A' team, led by Richard Nyirenda, who was joined by Lewis Mtumbuka, Adam Rollitt, Adam Lee and Amanda, Michael, Vikki, Fred and Andy did the long trek to Uledi. Most of the 'B' team, led by Marianne and including Daniel, Sydney, Stephen, James Herbert, James Hebron, Hils and Helen walked the three hours to Chisanga Falls, where they spent a very productive five days. Quincy and Laura took the bus out to drop off the 'A' team at Jalawi to start their week. They then drove to Mzuzu for repairs, to collect a trailer and to collect a few more items of provisions - principally tea which had disappeared at an early stage and caused some consternation in a few quarters. The leader remained at base camp with Chris, Bill and Kath, Alfeyo and Faston. We did further useful transect surveys and had the place cleared by the time the bus returned. We decided to leave the 'bazaar' in situ for any possible future use but otherwise the site was left as pristine as when we arrived. Our base now had to migrate to the Zambian Rest house.

THE TREK FROM JALAWI TO ULEDI

Richard and Lewis led the, by now, very fit A team, now joined by Vikki, on the physically demanding trip into the Chipome Valley and eventually up to the scout base at Uledi, covering the north western part of the park. This transect was known to be much frequented by illegal intrusion and we hoped to pick up plenty of intelligence, since it had been four years since any of our Biosearch teams had been along the Chipome for any distance. The route was more or less direct, with a handful of plots being surveyed within reasonable distance of the trail.

Adam Rollit writes:

After a long descent through the Brachystegia woodland, we arrive at the camp for the night, beside a comparatively wide river. After soothing dips and rests, we tuck into our spicy beans and rice as the night sets in. We exchange some stories with the scouts, with nsima and green vegetables, around the flickering campfire, with a background filled with the muffled trumpeting of elephants a mile or so away, and silence.

Skirting the North Rukuru River , flashes of faces and laughter along the opposite banks become more and more frequent...the civilization of the small settlement of Uledi! Another mile or so and we reach the much-talked-about bridge, constructed by students from Imperial College , London . After helping Aussie collect some more river results, I joined Chris to explore the village. The school consisted of a couple of simple buildings, one for the younger, and one for the older children. They were learning about Aids and simple maths; chalked on the board; how fast was the truck going if it travelled 25 miles for half an hour? Chris etched a few more words onto the blackboard. Flushed with sentiment, Chris recounts his experiences of the last time he came here in 2004, as we perch on the homemade pews in the tiny church. It doesn't seem to matter that the soft walls have mostly crumbled away.

We joined everyone around the fire for songs and sips of their millet beer - thick, bitty and tangy; it had mixed reviews from us. Then it was the 'way choo chooey, zion a way choo chooey zion ' song. 'Everbody, come and see!', it was loosely translated, and sang in celebration...of life really! The village girls did it first, little balls of rhythmic energy dancing the familiar dance in the centre of our little huddle, and singing the familiar words in beautiful synchrony. But there were additions and peculiarities that Richard didn't teach us about around the camp fire last night, so those were mumbled and the known words grasped as they came round the next time. We took turns to dance in the middle; Andie and Fred, Adam, me, and even Quincy and Lewis. This was followed by brilliant bouts of 'howkie kowkie' and 'heads shoulders knees and toes'. Ours and their lives converging seamslessly.

Morning arrived. Breakfast consisted of sautéed cassava, tomatoes, onions and boiled egg. Very nice! Then one or two or three of those gorgeous short, fat bananas and a spoonful of fresh yoghurt made from animals a few fields away.

Football match ( This is a replay following the match four years before - the inevitable result was similar - it would have been bad manners to rob the host team of their only international match of the season! The draw seemed a happy compromise)

This time we played on a full-sized pitch, with a proper ball (not a bundle of rubber bands), against bigger, but less nippy boys. Explosive and agile, and well adapted to their bobbly terrain - they played the full match with no shoes on! Our delicate feet needed stout walking boots (except for Aussi Andrew), which made running laboured and the more intricate aspects of ball control more difficult. We took the lead, only for them to cancel it out a while later. Then they scored a highly tenuous second, which almost certainly went around the back of the goal (shot from the side, no net). Herbie equalised with a tap-in after good work from Richard down the right. Finished 2-2, robbed! - but what a wonderful experience!

Summary Report 2007

Foreword - Leader Report Part 1 - Leader Report Part 2 - Team 2007 - Environmental Protection - PDF Summary 2007

FULL160 PAGE BOUND REPORT AVAILABLE ON REQUEST CLICK HERE Price: £15 + P&P bound copy £7.50 CD